My experience with Steam has been very good, but unfortunately it involves lots of impulse sale purchases. I don't even understand how digital copies go on sale, its not like there is a need to clear inventory. But Valve is obviously onto something, as it sure spurs my credit card use.
I have been a longtime fan of Vinny Caravella, currently from Giantbomb.com, and previously from the Gamespot Hotspot Podcast. He has, for as long as I can remember, discussed his own habit of purchasing Steam games on sale, and never even installing them.
This came up on the Giantbomb message boards, here are some interesting responses:
@RuinRunner starts off:
Listening to this week's Bombcast, I was reminded of an increasingly pervasive trend among gamers that I just can't seem to wrap my head around. The guys were teasing Vinny for buying a bunch of games in the latest Steam sale that he'll never play (though they've all admitted to the same behavior at various points in the past). While he laughingly acknowledged that he probably will never play most of them, it seemed not to require further explanation. I frequently hear similar stories from friends and on other podcasts and see them on message boards as well. As a Mac user, I am new to Steam. But Microsoft have finally started to see the brilliance of this digital distribution pricing model and have begun offering time limited XBLA sales, and still I've managed not to buy a bunch of crummy arcade ports and tower defense clones I know I won't touch.
However, it's not just fire sale priced digital content that is causing this effect on gamers. One guy I know buys a new copy of pretty much every AAA title for all three of the main consoles at MSRP on the day of release and then consigns a large majority of them to permanent stacks of shrink-wrapped DVD cases on a desk (his gamerscore's in the 30,000s after 5 years of 360 titles). That's an extreme case, sure, but how many games have you bought (on sale or otherwise) that you "just haven't gotten to yet"? Just this morning I saw that GoGamer has Left 4 Dead 2 for $20. I did want to play that one. And that is a great price. But I missed it. And I know if I buy it now I won't be able to play it before something brand new is released that I want to play (nor will I be able to find co-op companions, for that matter).
So what am I missing here? Is it fun just to own a game beyond the enjoyment of actually playing it? Maybe people think they will eventually "catch up" and dip into their back catalog, but if we're being honest this just isn't likely. The frequency with which quality games are being released has never been greater. And while that is essentially a good thing, I think it will necessitate a fundamental shift in our expectations of players' (and even critics') breadth of experience. We can't really assume that every gamer has time for every game anymore. So maybe it's time to stop fooling ourselves into buying all of them.
The first responses were mostly math equations, it seems people generally install about 75% of games, must who don't do so because of lack of hard drive space.
@Hitchinson
I install all of my games on Steam, I have 2TB of storage space, so that helps.
@Zidd
Theres only 1 game in my steam library that i havent installed and played and thats UT2K4 because I don't have space for it.
An interesting point was made about games being collectables, or the idea of building a "library" of games the way some people buy classic literature that they never read. But of course, this can't apply to Steam, with no physical product, can it? Perhaps these Steam collectors are actually just years ahead of the rest of us.
@LetsRockBaby
My PC can't run half the games I have on Steam (yeah, I need to upgrade or build a new computer altogether) and some I have no interest in playing tbh (thanks to the abundance of diverse games in the THQ pack), so I have 11/39 (not including mods or demos) installed.
I thought this was a good, succinct, point. First of all, getting games on sale means you have them for later, including when you have a better rig. Maybe I should have taken advantage of the $5 Bioshock offer? Also, I played And Yet It Moves briefly (read my thoughts here) but haven't gone back to it. It was part of a sale pack with games I really wanted.
@rybrad took an economic approach:
I think it really comes down to price versus value. When the price is significantly lower than the perceived value, people will be more inclined to buy something. What Vinny said is a similar predicament of many Steam users based on their experiences. I don't think many (if any) people purchase a game with the intention to never play it but there are times where the price to value relationship is so skewed that people view a game more favorably and thus purchase it. Having this experience tends to make people joke about "losing money if you don't buy it" because if you play it, you definitely got your moneys worth.
With that being said, many people DO end up playing all the games they buy. For example, last Christmas holiday sale, I bought a ton of games from Steam because the prices were so insanely low. I have not even looked at some of those games yet but in the last two months I have come upon some free time that has allowed me to start working through the backlog voraciously. I also bought several of the games based just on what friends/websites/forums had recommended to me which I imagine is the case for many other low price, impulse purchases that people make. While VInny may not play the new games he bought right now, there is always the possibility that there will be a lull in game releases that will give him more time to spend with Mr. Holmes.
Long story short, I don't think buying a game and never playing it is a conscious decision that someone makes when purchasing a sale item.
And finally, my thoughts from the topic:
Installed? All of them. Played? All of them?
Played for more than a few hours? Uh...
I too have trouble passing up a sale price, but I think my problem is more like your friend with shrink wrapped AAA titles, and maybe less like Vinny. I WANT to play all these games so badly, and honestly mean to. The problem is that with a job, social life, and law school, I almost never have time. So I get games when they are on sale, play 2-3 hours, and sometimes just never have a chance to go back. I STILL want to play Okami, finish Super Mario Galaxy, etc. I even have a classic Nintendo that I am trying to finish games on...
But what makes Steam and similar digital distribution sales so great is that I have a chance to pick up games cheap, including older ones, and see how I do. Take Half-Life 2, for example. I missed it when it first came out. It was on sale on Steam. I picked it up, ran through it, had a great time. I am now working my way through the two expansions. So now I got to see the stories, and the games. The only sad part is that I probably won't have a chance to go through again on higher difficulties, or even to pick up missed achievements.
In a way, I am a little jealous of your friend with his shrink wrapped AAA titles. At least, someday, when he gets some time, he can pop in that unopened copy of RE4, much like I did earlier this year, and discover an amazing gameplay experience. Sure, it is fun to play games while the internet buzz is hot, and yeah, some stories do get a little spoiled (I am still hoping to one day play Bioshock, even though I know how it ends), and graphics do progress daily. And yet, a good game, you can always go back to. Civ V may be out for full price, but for $10, I have gotten my money's worth out of Civ IV a hundred times over.
How do you use Steam? What games have you bought and never played, or never installed? Continue the conversation in the comments, or head over to Giantbomb and read the whole topic here
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